Confessions and Compromises
by FantasiCat
Summary: Seto and Yami have a fight, and things are said that shouldn't have been. Is this the end of their relationship, or can things somehow be fixed? Shonen-ai, SetoYami


Confessions and Compromises 

By FantasiCat

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been AWOL for so long; the real world caught up to me for a bit -_-. But now I'm back with another attempt at fic-writing! I hope you enjoy. ^_^  Much, much thanks to Thanx4reading for inspiration when I got stuck, as well as beta-reading for me. This is the first non-songfic I've written, as well as my first Yu-Gi-Oh anything, and I was rather lost. Love ya, sweetie! This is dedicated to Koneko Shido, for all her wonderful stories ^_^, and to thanx4reading for being my sounding board, my beta-reader, my sympathetic ear, my cheerer-upper, and my best friend. I love you, sweetie!

Disclaimer: The characters of Yu-Gi-Oh do not belong to me. *sob*

Warnings: slight angst, some sappiness, fluff, bad writing, probably OOC… I think that's it… Oh wait, almost forgot. This is SHONEN-AI, people, so if you have a problem with two guys being in love, leave and get counseling for your deep-seated psychological problems. If you don't, feel free to stay and enjoy!

"blah" is spoken dialogue

**blah** is thoughts

_~Flashback~ blah ~End Flashback~_ …is a flashback. Duh.

~@~@~@~ is change of POV

Seto Kaiba sighed, and buried his face in his hands. **Idiot, idiot, idiot. What did you expect? You obviously don't deserve to be happy.** His self-berating thoughts continued to circle around the painful events of that afternoon. He and Yami had had fights before, but this one had been particularly bad. The amount of time Kaiba spent working had long been a point of contention between the two lovers; there were few things Kaiba denied his fiery little love, but he refused to budge on this issue.

**Why do you always _have_ to be right? You stubborn, thickheaded fool!** Kaiba continued kicking himself mentally, for he knew that what had happened had been entirely his fault.

_~Flashback~_

_"Seto, if you don't slow down you're going to kill yourself," Yami said pleadingly. "I hardly ever see you anymore, and when I do see you you're exhausted. Please, love, just take a few days off or- or- something!" His crimson eyes bored into his deep blue ones, begging without words._

_"I can't do that, Yami, and you know it," Kaiba responded, not backing down despite the twinge he experienced seeing the pain in his boyfriend's eyes. "The company won't run itself, and those idiots over there can't seem to do anything without me there to oversee it." It's true he wasn't around as often now that they had graduated, but the work he was doing was important. Couldn't Yami see that? "If I'm not at the company, keeping everything under control, we could lose everything. Isn't that important? Can't you see that I'm doing what's best for you and Mokuba? Work is sometimes more important than spending time with you. It's _necessary_."_

_At that Yami had drawn back from him, wrapping his arms around himself, shock and disbelief evident in his expression. "I-if that's how you really feel Seto, m-maybe I should go." Kaiba paused in the middle of his rant when he caught sight of the hurt in Yami's eyes. Thinking over what he had just said, his eyes widened in disbelief. **What am I doing?! How could I even **_**imply_ that work is more important then Yami?_**

_"Yami, wait, please, I didn't mean that like it sounded-"_

_"No, I get it Seto. You don't want me around anymore," Yami cut him off, tears brimming. "I can take a hint. I'll just… go now…" _

_With that he fled the room, Kaiba's shouted 'Wait!' unheeded. The full impact of what had just occurred hit him, and he fell to his knees in shock and despair. "Yami…"_

_~End Flashback~_

"Yami, baby, I'm so, so sorry," Kaiba whispered to the empty air. "I didn't mean any off it… Please come back." It was a good thing Mokuba was away for the weekend. He'd have been worried sick. Kaiba sat in the same spot where he had fallen after Yami had left early that afternoon; it was now well into the evening.

~@~@~@~

Yami stumbled through the streets of Domino City, chilled to the bone from the pouring rain and fighting to hold back his tears. **Oh my Ra… Seto, do I really mean that little to you? Is work more important then my love? **He choked back another sob at the thought. Yami looked up, startled to see that, unbeknownst to him, his feet had carried him to Jounouchi's house. He knocked on the door, shivering as he waited for someone to answer it. When Jou opened the door, he practically fell into his arms.

"Yami! What are you doing here so late? What happened?" Jounouchi exclaimed as he half-carried him inside. He placed him on the couch, left the room, and, returning quickly with as blanket and some tea, settled Yami in.

"I-it's Seto. We h-had a fight," Yami managed to get out through his chattering teeth. "I asked him to t-take some time off… He works too hard…"

Jou's eyes darkened. "I knew that bastard was bad news!" he snarled. "Why'd you ever get involved with that creep anyway? You're too good for him."

"Because I love him," whispered Yami, staring into his tea as if the secrets of the universe lurked in its murky depths. "I love him so much." Unnoticed, tears began to fall from his eyes again.

"Hey, don't cry buddy. It's gonna be alright," Jou said soothingly, wrapping Yami in a comforting hug and letting him sob into his chest. After a few minutes of rocking him back and forth, Yami straightened, sniffling.

"Thanks Jou. I'm glad I have someone I can count on," Yami smiled.

Jounouchi smiled back at him. "No problem buddy. Now why don't you tell me exactly what happened."

Yami told him everything that had transpired that afternoon, ending with when he had shown up on Jou's doorstep. "I guess it's partly my fault for pestering. I just… If he doesn't slow down, he will end up killing himself."

Jounouchi struggled to find the words to console his friend. None were forthcoming. **Damn it. Inspirational speaking was never my forte. Yami makes it looks so easy…** Fortunately, he was saved by the shrill ringing of the phone. "I'll be right back Yami," he said, heading towards the kitchen to answer it. Yami nodded, pulling the blanket tighter around him and sipping at his tea.

Jou grabbed the phone on the fourth ring. "Hello?" 

"It's Seto Kaiba. Do you happen to know where Yami is?" Kaiba's normally cool and even tone sounded slightly ragged to Jou's ears.

"Bastard. Where do you get off calling here?" Jou all but growled. "Yami told me what happened today."

"You mean he's there? Please, can I-" Kaiba's voice cracked. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Can I please talk to him?"

Jounouchi furrowed his forehead. Kaiba sounded… worried and almost frantic. The fact that there was any emotion in his voice at all said to Jou that he desperately wanted to speak to Yami, but he was reluctant to do something that would cause his friend pain. "I don't know if he really wants to talk to you Kaiba."

Kaiba sighed, "Can you just ask him? If he doesn't want to speak to me- and I can understand why he wouldn't- I'll leave him alone, I swear."

There was a pause while Jounouchi debated this. "Fine," he relented after a moment. "Hang on." Jou put the phone on the counter and returned to the living room. "Yami? Kaiba's on the phone. He wants to talk to you."

Yami shot up from his reclining position on the couch. "Where's the phone?" he demanded. Jou showed him to the kitchen, than tactfully retreated out of earshot. Yami picked up the phone and spoke into it tentatively. "Seto?"

~@~@~@~

Kaiba closed his eyes when he heard his love's rich, husky voice on the phone. "Yami…" he hesitated. He had gathered up the remaining shreds of his dignity and pride, and thrown them out the window in order to be able to ask the mutt for help in finding Yami. It took all of his courage to speak to his lover now. He was never very good at things like this, but he was willing to do anything to get Yami back. Apologizing was a good place to start. He took a deep breath and continued. "I- oh gods, Yami, I'm so sorry." Once he started, he couldn't seem to stop, the words flowing out of him in a torrent of suppressed emotion. "I didn't mean what I said. Absolutely nothing is more important then you. Please come back, I'll do anything, I'll take all of next week off, I'll cut some time off the amount of hours I work each day, just…" he trailed off, then practically sobbed into the phone. "Just… please love, come back home… I love you…" He waited to hear Yami's reaction to his speech, as well as his declaration of his feelings. It was the first time he had ever told his lover of his feelings directly, though he had tried to convey them indirectly.

~@~@~@~

"Seto…" Yami was speechless. He wiped his damp eyes, Seto's apology and declaration of love having caused him to start tearing up. "Oh Dragon…" He let out a sob.

"Baby, please don't cry," Kaiba said frantically. "I didn't mean to upset you… If you want me to leave you alone, I-I understand…"

Yami smiled through his tears, happier then he could ever remember being. "Oh Seto, I love you too! So much. And I would very much like to come home."

"Oh my Pharaoh…" Seto breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't lost his love after all. "I'll be right there."

"I'll be waiting, Dragon," Yami replied. They hung up, and Yami went to find Jou. He found him in the living room, channel surfing. After sitting down next to him, Yami wrapped him in a spontaneous hug.

After getting over his initial surprise, Jou smiled at him. "I take it everything's okay now?" Yami nodded, still grinning madly.

"He's coming to get me now," he replied. "Thank you so much for your help Jou. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"What are friends for?" Jou said warmly. At that moment, the doorbell rang. Yami jumped up and ran to answer it, throwing himself into Kaiba's arms as soon as it was fully open and kissing him soundly. They broke apart only after hearing Jounouchi cough embarrassedly behind them.

Kaiba looked at Jou for a long moment. "Thank you for taking care of him," he said, solemnly and sincerely. "I am in your debt."

Jou colored with embarrassment. "Don't mention it." Kaiba nodded, then turned and walked to his car with Yami snuggling into his embrace.

~@~@~@~

When they reached the Kaiba mansion, Kaiba insisted on carrying Yami inside, despite him protesting that he could walk just fine. "I like having you in my arms," was his reply. Yami blushed. "I never want to let go of you again," Kaiba continued, nuzzling his loves hair. Yami sighed in pleasure. Kaiba carried him all the way up to the room they had shared since they had graduated, when Yami had moved in with his boyfriend.

After setting Yami down, he drew him into a gentle, loving kiss. Pulling away slightly, Kaiba rested his forehead against Yami's and looked into his captivating crimson eyes. "I love you," he whispered, emotions apparent in his clear blue gaze. He vowed to himself never to let this fiery little lover of his go. Yami smiled, and then pulled his lips back to him, initiating the kiss this time. Without removing his lips from the others, he murmured, "Why don't you show me how much?" Kaiba smirked at the challenge in his lover's voice, and then proceeded to do exactly that, each losing himself in the other long into the night until, exhausted, they fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms.

~Owari~

Tarrell: *smack* How could you do that!

I'm sorry! I was _gonna_ try my hand at lemon writing, but I chickened out at the last minute. I don't think I could ever compare with some of the great writers out there, so I lost my nerve. Don't hate me!

Inspiration for this fic: The song 'The Reason' by Hoobastank, and the wonderful story _I Wish I May, I Wish I Might_ by Dai-Onna. If you haven't read this great fic yet, GO NOW!! ^_~

Muse credit goes to: Tarrell, the cute cuddly 'lil kitten.

Tarrell: HOW many times to I have to tell you, I am NOT a cute cuddly kitten! I am-

Yeah yeah, I know, I know. You're a 'fierce, hunting, warrior leopard'. I get it. ^_^

Scientific studies have proven that reviewers are 30% smarter then other people. And remember, flames will be laughed, passed around to my friends to be laughed at some more, than cheerfully used to roast marshmallows. 'Til next time, ja ne!


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